Forward Day By Day – October 30, 2018

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Some scholars believed this psalm was composed when Solomon’s temple was dedicated and the Ark of the Covenant placed in the most holy place. This is an appealing theory, although there is little historic evidence to support it. This psalm is, however, appointed for...

Forward Day By Day – October 29, 2018

Monday, October 29, 2018

Before I stepped into cold and snowy mornings to walk to school, my mother made sure I had eaten a hot, nourishing breakfast. She also fed me reminders about being on good behavior and working well. Swaddled in her love, I left the house fortified in body and...

Forward Day By Day – October 28, 2018

Sunday, October 28, 2018

What are the identifying characteristics of faith? How do we recognize faith when we are in its presence? In this story from Mark, we encounter someone who has and is impelled by great faith.Nothing is expected of Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, nor does he expect...

Forward Day By Day – October 27, 2018

Saturday, October 27, 2018

This parable has much to teach us about what constitutes hospitality, social obligation, and honor. Even if it is not because of friendship but rather self-interest, the neighbor ultimately responds to his needful friend’s relentless request.When my friend of longest...

Forward Day By Day – October 26, 2018

Friday, October 26, 2018

When Susan Boyle took the stage on the competition “Britain’s Got Talent” several years ago, many rolled their eyes, and some snickered. Even one of the judges did not hide his doubtful expression. The woman at the microphone was forty-eight years old, with frizzy...

Forward Day By Day – October 25, 2018

Thursday, October 25, 2018

As a child, my neighbors were mostly folks who were African-American and Protestant, just like me. I now live in a neighborhood full of various ethnicities and faiths. My understanding of who my neighbors are has changed.The lawyer who challenges Jesus before the...

Forward Day By Day – October 24, 2018

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

“Wait until we get home,” my mother would say when I misbehaved in public. Once we arrived at the house, a prolonged silence often preceded punishment. The tension of those silences was worse than the actual punishments.God is always trying to get our attention and...

Forward Day By Day – October 23, 2018

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Few fictional characters so fully embody wickedness, sin, and scorn as that of Screwtape in C.S. Lewis’s classic The Screwtape Letters. Screwtape mentors his nephew in securing the damnation of a British man, known only as “the Patient.” Screwtapes are everywhere,...

Forward Day By Day – October 22, 2018

Monday, October 22, 2018

Ben Sira writes Ecclesiasticus at a time when many Jews are becoming aware of Hellenic (Greek) culture but are still committed to their Jewish roots, including the study of Torah. Ben Sira is particularly concerned about young people, who seem attracted to the Greek...

Forward Day By Day – October 21, 2018

Sunday, October 21, 2018

James and John want a piece of the glory Jesus will attain. They eagerly affirm willingness to endure the suffering and death awaiting Jesus, but without understanding that “the cup” and “the baptism” Jesus speaks of are the inevitable and necessary steps preceding...

Forward Day By Day – October 20, 2018

Saturday, October 20, 2018

There is a cinematic quality to this episode in Acts, with Paul expounding day and night before large numbers of Jewish elders, trying to persuade them to accept Christ. Much like in the parable of the sower, a portion of the seed Paul disperses to his listeners falls...

Forward Day By Day – October 19, 2018

Friday, October 19, 2018

When Jesus prays, momentous things occur. After Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit descends on him while he prays (Luke 3:21-22); Jesus selects the twelve apostles after an entire night spent in prayer (6:12-16); and Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah takes place...

Forward Day By Day – October 18, 2018

Thursday, October 18, 2018

My doctor and I are not friends, but we need each other. I need her care to maintain good health, and she needs me to support her practice. I do not know whether my doctor is a person of faith, but she is a member of God’s community of healers.Many scholars believe...